Chapter Text
"She’s beautiful."
"Who?"
Grateful for such a favor, Noa had offered to fix some broken structures in the village while they remained hidden there. In the midst of his chores, he noticed that Seeb also started to repair alongside him, but without enthusiasm. Apparently, he just wanted to talk.
"Mae."
Noa’s hands faltered slightly at the mention of the human.
Incredulous at what he had heard, he glanced at the chimpanzee. Seeb wasn’t even paying attention to the task; his eyes were fixed on Mae in the distance. Noa noticed that he was serious.
"How do you know? She’s an echo," Noa remarked, unable to hide his interest but with a certain annoyance bubbling from his chest.
"I’ve seen pictures of... female echos. The ancient ones. The intelligent ones like her. …Or so it seems. There are images showing many different echos, of various colors and shapes... I think I know when an echo is beautiful, and Mae... she is."
His response definitely irritated him. What exactly did Seeb see in Mae?
Spurred by the other chimpanzee’s comment, Noa also turned his gaze towards the intelligent echos, where Mae was talking with them and a couple of other apes.
By then, Mae no longer wore her hair loose or in a braid; instead, she had it up in a style she called a “ponytail.” She was no longer as thin as the first time he saw her; she had gained some weight, giving her more vitality, very different from the echo who approached Raka and him, crawling for some apples. Her cheeks constantly showed a slight reddish color. And every time she smiled, Mae radiated a brightness that reached her eyes as well.
Although he couldn’t say how he knew, Noa realized that the change suited her.
>>"I’m sure she stands out among her colony too. Do you notice there are always males around her? She’s beautiful and they know it."
"Nonsense."
Although maybe not entirely. He couldn’t deny to himself that he had sometimes wondered how a male of his own species would look at her. Would they see only her intelligence as he did? Or would they focus more on her physique? If it was her physique, what exactly would they look at?
"She has the day’s sky in her eyes. Her skin looks very soft to the touch. Her hair can reflect the colors of the sun. Her hands are small but capable of many things. She’s a small girl, but with strong arms and legs. Her breasts are—"
"Shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Of course I do, Noa! It would be unfair to compare her with the females of our species... The girl would lose, but that doesn’t mean she’s not beautiful. Look at her in the good details we have in common."
He had done that. Many times. Several of those, wanting to justify that he didn’t do it for any particular reason.
But he was deceiving himself. The main reason was that she attracted him and he wanted to know why.
When he met her, Noa had decided that Mae was just another wild echo, and they lacked beauty for him. They were all the same to him. A plague of bad omen that needed to be scared away.
However, when Mae demonstrated intelligence, she stood out, and it’s possible he saw her with different eyes since then.
But it was normal; Noa had never witnessed an echo that spoke and showed deep knowledge, and to his envy, knew more than him.
Among the males of his species, it was evident she stood out for being a female, but among the females, it’s possible she stood out as well. At least, the other intelligent echos they had encountered on their journey did not seem appealing beside her.
But it could also be explained that up to that point in their journey, the echo with whom he had become most accustomed to interacting was her.
And because of this closeness, unconsciously, his eyes always followed her.
Noa had realized how small she was compared to him when he hugged her one cold night to protect her from the chill. He knew her arms and legs were strong when they clung to his waist and shoulders when they climbed a building together. Her eyes, besides reflecting all the shades of blue in the sky, were hypnotic. But if he had to choose one special feature, it was her scent...
So yes, it’s possible that a set of details made her beautiful in his eyes.
But for Noa to reach that conclusion, it was his problem.
His guilty pleasure.
One he knew his species usually didn’t have, but for another ape to suddenly notice Mae’s beauty much sooner than he had concluded, alarmed all his territorial instincts.
"Do you think she would choose to be with an ape?"
"What?!" Noa jumped, this time clearly stumbling over his task.
"You know, if she would choose an ape as a mate... Me."
"You’re crazy. She’s an echo."
"So what? My people aren’t afraid of them and she would benefit the village."
"You’re not getting it. She’s a different species."
"I don’t care. I like her. I want her to be my mate."
That declaration infuriated Noa, and he glared at Seeb, forgetting that he was the host of their stay in that place.
He didn’t care at all that Seeb wanted to be with an echo, but it deeply troubled him that of all the echos there were, he wanted to be with Mae.
<<He will have to kill me first>>
"She wouldn’t choose to be with an ape," Noa retorted with a frown.
"She’s a member of Caesar’s order. If she chose to fight with apes, it’s for a reason."
Noa narrowed his eyes at Seeb, making a grimace of disgust. That observation had made him even more tense. It was hard to hide his reactions, but slowly he was starting not to care that Seeb was the hosting leader of their hideout.
"You’re her friend. If she has ape friends, why not a mate too?"
"Because... because..." Noa hesitated; suddenly he couldn’t think of any excuse, and that made him nervous. Seeb had argued good points, but Noa didn’t want them to benefit him— "we can’t mate with another species."
"There’s no law that forbids it."
"Have you ever seen a couple of different species?"
"...No."
"There you have it. If it doesn’t exist, it’s for a reason."
"I think it’s just a sign that someone should take the initiative. Mae seems very valuable, and I want her for myself... But I also want her... to want me."
"She doesn’t know you," Noa responded through clenched teeth. "She won’t do such a thing."
"Maybe if I offer her protection..."
"No!" Noa exclaimed, hitting the ground.
Clearly, he was already angry.
"You’re her friend! I thought you could help me! You have to look out for her well-being!"
"Listen to me," their conversation had caught the attention of the apes, even the humans. He was sure they couldn’t hear them, but it was clear their interaction was becoming very tense. "She doesn’t want you. She won’t choose you. And much less be your mate."
"Because you say so."
Provoked by that mocking tone, Noa stood up from the ground, followed by Seeb, both imposing with their full height, ready to start fighting.
<<To hell with it.>>
Noa was ready to beat Seeb until he got Mae out of his head. He didn’t know where all that violence came from; he had never felt that way before. Not even when he fought against Proximus.
But he wouldn’t allow this ape they had just met to get closer to Mae.
She was off-limits to anyone but him.
If there was a single ape Mae could consider as a mate, it had to be Noa.
So he wouldn’t allow another ape to compete for that position.
"Noa!"
If it weren’t for the tone of concern with which Mae shouted at him, hearing his name so loudly from her would have taken him back to the moment he heard her speak for the first time.
Slightly averting his gaze, Noa saw Mae standing apart from the group she had been with before, and halfway between the two apes who were about to fight. She had stayed at a prudent distance, her face reflecting a mix of surprise and deep concern at the scene.
Noa, coming back to his senses a bit and determined not to upset Mae further but unable to contain his jealousy, grabbed Seeb by the scruff of his neck and whispered angrily in his ear:
"And for the record: Mae is mine."
Then, he shoved him in the chest, making Seeb stagger back, and fled from there, with Mae chasing after him, shouting his name.
Probably to demand an explanation.
It was possible they would have to leave the clan after this fateful confrontation. Noa would think about the troublesome consequences that would affect the group for having the clan leader against them, but he was willing to leave, even delighted, if it meant keeping Mae away from Seeb.